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Paula Zahn Now

Touring Beirut's Battle Damage; Three Charged in Hurricane Katrina Hospital Deaths; Thousands of Americans Trapped in Lebanon

Aired July 18, 2006 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you all for being with us.
Tonight, an exclusive in our top story coverage -- for the first time, we're going to take you into Israel's top priority target, the Beirut neighborhoods where Hezbollah is now in control.

Before we go in depth, though, here's where the crisis stands at this hour.

Just into CNN, word of a major change in policy for Americans stuck in Lebanon -- CNN has just confirmed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has decided that all evacuees will not be asked to sign a promissory note to reimburse the government before they will be evacuated.

Only 350 of an estimated 25,000 Americans in Lebanon have helicoptered out so far. Two cruise ships are expected to dock tomorrow.

Israeli jets continue hitting Beirut -- the latest explosions lighting up the skies just a short time ago. Israeli leaders say they're prepared to fight Hezbollah for weeks, and may even send in ground troops into Lebanon.

Hezbollah is vowing to keep fighting as well. Rockets are still thundering across northern Israel, hitting, among other places, the city of Haifa.

President Bush and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah spoke just a short time ago, both expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in Lebanon.

In our control room, we have correspondents on the front lines, in Beirut, along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

And, on the home front, Deborah Feyerick joins us from Dearborn, Michigan, tonight.

The most dangerous place in the world tonight is probably southern Beirut. That's where our top story coverage begins.

For the first time in the fighting, Hezbollah is allowing a CNN crew into this tightly controlled area, literally the top priority for Israeli attacks.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins me from Beirut with his exclusive report -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, there have been explosions here.

Just a little over an hour ago, two very large, huge, thunderous explosions sounded as if they were bunker-buster-type bombs. There have been attacks all over Lebanon today. We were given exclusive access by Hezbollah, by their media office, with security, into an area of southern Beirut where they were expecting the possibility of Israeli airstrikes at any time.

They wanted to show us that their civilians are being caught up in this conflict. When Israelis say that they are targeting the leadership of Hezbollah, when they say they're targeting the military of Hezbollah. Hezbollah wanted to show us, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, densely populated, that this area is an area where civilians are getting caught up in the conflict, that the bombing has been all over Lebanon today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: Where are we going now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we are moving to where Israeli jet fighters bombed what it called Hezbollah headquarters. I am going to show you on the ground that this is -- these are buildings inhabited by civilians, innocent civilians.

ROBERTSON: We are moving around very quickly here, I noticed. Are you concerned that there could be strikes at any times?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know when Israeli jet fighters come and hit any target in this area. So, now we are objected to any fire from Israel.

ROBERTSON: It could come down right here at any moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, right here. There's now jet fighters in the sky.

ROBERTSON: There's jets in the sky right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. So, you never know when they hit this area.

ROBERTSON: And what happened here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the bombs that fell. And look what happened to this building, which is all, like, inhabited by innocent civilians living there, people who are just working, like everybody else, no military bases, nothing, no anti-aircraft fire, just building, people living there.

ROBERTSON: How many people were -- were killed and injured in this particular attack here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks God, people evacuated these buildings early. And, luckily, no one was killed in this -- in such attacks.

But I want to tell you something. Where is the international community? Where is the Security Council? Where is the United Nations? Where is the whole world? We are under fire.

ROBERTSON: You are really worried about another strike here right now, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, of course.

ROBERTSON: How dangerous is it in this area at the moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is very, very dangerous. It's -- we are now the most dangerous place in the most dangerous moment.

ROBERTSON: In civilian housing.

Well, what -- what -- what was here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just look. Shoot. It is civilians, buildings. Look at this building. Is it a military base? Is it a military base, or just civilians living in this building?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: Now, that tour we had was a very brief tour.

But, in that time, all the evidence that we saw, everything we saw around us, looked like civilian buildings. We didn't any military hardware lying around. We didn't go into the buildings and look. But all the belongings that you could see pouring and strewn out of the buildings into the rubble all looked like that they were fallen out of regular, normal civilian housing -- Paula.

ZAHN: Extraordinary pictures. None of us have seen anything like that before, clearly, Nic.

Now, at the top of your report, you were reminding us that, just about 20 minutes before you went on the air with us here, there were more airstrikes. Can you give us an update on what you think was being targeted then and how far those strikes were away from where you are standing right now?

ROBERTSON: You know, what we saw in southern Beirut were areas of civilian housing that had been targeted, collapsed buildings that have been leveled to the ground. Those big booms that we heard a little earlier sounded like bunker busters. And I say that because there was a sort of a -- an initial thump, and, then, after, a huge boom right behind it.

It is not clear exactly where those bombs were striking. We heard the Israeli aircraft overhead a little bit before. It won't be until daylight, I think, that we can get a -- a better analysis of what has been hit. But, again, the Israelis say they're targeting the military infrastructure of Hezbollah. Hezbollah doesn't have barracks. It doesn't have places where it -- it houses its -- its armed wing. It makes it very, very difficult for anyone wanting to target that military infrastructure -- Paula.

ZAHN: So, how much did you trust the man who was taking you on the tour, if, in fact, Hezbollah blends in so seamlessly into this civilian infrastructure there?

ROBERTSON: The area we were in was absolutely deserted.

The -- the houses that we could see that were broken apart and the -- and the belongings strewn out of the side of the buildings into the road, all were civilian possessions. I -- I have been in bombed- out areas where there has been military equipment before.

It gets lying -- it's laid around in the road, in the rubble. Nobody had been tidying up this area. I was also very struck by the fact that the people we were with, despite the fact that they said morale was very high, that they would fight to the end, that they weren't afraid of dying, were very concerned about being in that precise area, very, very concerned.

The young man we were with seemed very agitated. There were other people around who were clearly in touch with a situ -- with a bigger situation, who were telling him: You know, get out of this area. Get out now very quickly.

So, I -- I believe that what we saw there was civilian housing. And, again, we did not see any sort of military infrastructure whatsoever in that brief time -- Paula.

ZAHN: Nic Robertson, thanks so much for the update.

Now our top story coverage moves to the city of Haifa, Israel, the target of Hezbollah rockets.

Joining me now, Miri Eisin. She was a top intelligence officer for the Israeli military. She's now a spokeswoman for the Israeli government.

Ms. Eisin, we have just gotten a tour by a man who showed Nic Robertson what he described as significant damage to civilian areas of Beirut. How does Israel defend that kind of damage?

MIRI EISIN, FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Hezbollah is the one that is sitting and hiding behind the civilians in the city of Beirut and all over Lebanon. They do this on purpose, as a terrorist organization. And that's one of the problems that we have with the targeting.

Israel is determined to not let Hezbollah hide behind the civilians. While Israel is trying to minimize any civilian damages that are there, we see Hezbollah trying, whenever they attack civilian structures in Israel -- and that's all they attack -- to maximize the civilian damages. ZAHN: So, these civilians that are running in complete terror can expect their homes to continue to be bombed out, people who say they have nothing to do with Hezbollah?

EISIN: Israel, over the last week, has, in addition to flying over Beirut, thrown leaflets, tried and give warning.

But we're talking about areas in Beirut where it is Hezbollah stronghold. The areas that they showed before are also the areas where there used to be -- you had to have an entrance to be able go into Hezbollah areas.

It is as if it was an entire little independent kingdom inside Beirut. As we speak now, Israel continues to target Hezbollah all over Lebanon, the roads that approach them. They're still firing rockets where I'm standing here in Haifa. They fired just a few hours ago. They have been firing here all the time. They're targeting civilians on purpose. We are trying to minimize the civilian casualties.

ZAHN: Would you say you have significantly damaged the military power of Hezbollah?

EISIN: Hezbollah is a formidable foe. There is no question, as a terrorist organization, they have been accumulating these rockets for years. They have tens of thousands. We're continuing to try and pinpoint and target wherever they are. We have certainly damaged them. We're very aware of the fact that we still have a lot of work to do.

ZAHN: Miri Eisin, thanks so much for joining us tonight. Appreciate your perspective.

Now on to our nightly countdown of the top 10 most popular stories on CNN.com.

Let's go straight to Melissa Long, our broadband news service Pipeline person.

MELISSA LONG, CNN PIPELINE: Yes.

ZAHN: Hi, Melissa.

(LAUGHTER)

LONG: Hi, Paula.

CNN.com recorded a lot of traffic today. More than 21 million people logged on to CNN.com.

And coming in at number 10 tonight -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush made the decision to keep the Justice Department lawyers from investigating the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

CNN.com readers also wanted to learn more Monday's quake and tsunami in Indonesia, the story number nine on the countdown.

Waves up to 10 feet high crashed on to the coast of Java. Authorities say at least 341 people were killed. Of course, the Indian Ocean has been volatile. Who can forget December of '04, when an estimated 200,000 people died?

ZAHN: Astonishing power of water.

Melissa, see you in a couple of minutes.

(CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: We move on now, continuing our top story coverage, with the urgent race to rescue Americans trapped in Lebanon right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): As our top story in the Mideast continues, escape from Beirut -- the evacuation of thousands of Americans finally begins. But, in the midst of the violence, why are American citizens among some of the last out?

And tonight's top investigative story: During Hurricane Katrina, patients died behind these hospital walls -- tonight, charges of murder and startling new developments in a CNN investigation -- all that and more just ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Welcome back.

Even though southern Beirut may be the most dangerous place in the world, tonight, northern Israel is far from safe. And that is the next stop in our top story coverage.

At any moment, swarms of Hezbollah rockets may roar overhead. Explosions are often followed by the rumble of collapsing buildings.

Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour spent today in this war zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All the Israeli bombardments of this past week have not yet silenced Hezbollah. The seaside town of Nahariya, which is just five miles from the Lebanon border, got the worst of it today. Twelve rockets hit here. One struck a small apartment building, causing some injuries. Another struck a home and killed a man.

Three rockets fell in the Haifa area -- no reports of casualties. For four days and four nights, this Israeli artillery unit has kept up a steady onslaught on Hezbollah positions just across the border. And their mission is not nearly done. BRIGADIER GENERAL GAL HIRSCH, NORTHERN FRONT BATTLE COMMANDER, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: The directive is dismantle, attack, destroy the abilities of Hezbollah, and clear the threat from the Israeli citizens.

AMANPOUR: Brigadier General Gal Hirsch is the northern front battle commander.

This is about never again letting Hezbollah build up missiles and military that can attack up north, as far south as Haifa, and maybe even beyond. Every shell that is fired, every barrage of their multiple-launch rocket systems is aimed at pushing Hezbollah back, to never again let them occupy positions right here on the border with southern Lebanon. It is about creating a buffer zone.

Indeed, for Commander Hirsch and his men, this is do or die.

HIRSCH: We cannot fail. We don't have any other choice. We cannot live under this umbrella of terror missiles. And we will attack and attack and fight for our lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And Hirsch also says that, right now, they're in what they call phase one of this operation. It may take several more weeks, he said.

But they also have a contingency plan for a phase two, which could entail some kind of ground operation across the border, into Lebanon. He said there are divisions and brigades standing by, should that order be given -- Paula.

ZAHN: Christiane Amanpour, thanks so much for the update.

Our top story coverage continues now with a look at a very important player in the Lebanese crisis, but one that few Americans have seen. It is Al-Manar, a Beirut TV station supported by Hezbollah. Its main buildings have already been hit by an Israeli strike.

Joining me now from Beirut is Ibrahim Mousawi, Al-Manar's chief foreign news editor.

Thanks so much for being with us.

An Israeli official...

IBRAHIM MOUSAWI, CHIEF FOREIGN NEWS EDITOR, AL-MANAR TELEVISION: Thank you.

ZAHN: ... told us tonight that she believes that Israel has seriously damaged Hezbollah's infrastructure militarily.

How much has it hurt you?

MOUSAWI: Well, actually, I believe that all of the things they are mentioning vis-a-vis destroy -- destroying the infrastructure of Hezbollah, is pure lying.

I mean, you can go to the reporters, and they have -- the Israelis have to produce any evidence about that. They are targeting civilian targets on the -- the building (AUDIO GAP) And this is what they doing. They failed to target any of Hezbollah. So far, only four members...

ZAHN: Mr. Mousawi, let me...

MOUSAWI: ... of Hezbollah were killed.

ZAHN: Let me stop you for a moment, because this Israeli spokesperson also told me that, historically, Hezbollah has blended in with the civilian population, and they have no choice but to target those areas where they believe Hezbollah leaders and their followers are hanging out and hiding -- or hiding.

MOUSAWI: Well, actually, ever since Hezbollah carried the operation, it carried it from military position to military position.

And it wanted not to go into targeting the civilians. When they target the civilians, it was for deterrent reasons. And that was after two days of continuous aggression and targeting the civilian buildings.

When you talk about Hezbollah, you are talking about people (INAUDIBLE) sociology, the -- the social situation of the people. This is not something that you can disassociate from the people. You're talking about people that have chosen to fight and resist against the occupation.

ZAHN: Mr. Mousawi, the U.N. mandated years ago that Hezbollah be disarmed. Hezbollah now makes up a part of what is considered a legitimate Lebanese government. That government has its own Lebanese army. Why don't you trust that army to protect your people?

MOUSAWI: Well, it is not that we don't trust that army.

It's -- everybody knows that the Israeli army and the Israeli operation -- this is a superpower, I mean, compared to all of the Arab armies, with the United States supporting Israel and make as if -- giving it the supremacy all over the Arab armies altogether.

So, you need the -- another way in order to fight and resist. You don't want a classical army. You want a kind of guerrilla warfare. And this is what Hezbollah is doing.

When it comes to the government, the government, in its ministerial declaration, has given Hezbollah the right, as a resistance movement, to resists. And this is what Hezbollah is doing.

ZAHN: When do you think this cycle of violence will end? And I need a very brief answer.

MOUSAWI: Well, ever since the operation took place, they said, this is a limited -- Hezbollah said, this is a limited operation in time and space. We don't want any destabilization or escalation of the security situation. We want indirect negotiation and the swap. The Israelis are negotiating via their war -- war jets, F-16 war jets.

ZAHN: Ibrahim Mousawi, they, of course, would dispute that. And they would say that there are negotiations going on behind the scenes, with various players, to -- to stop this. We will keep our audience posted when there is any breakthrough on that front.

Again, thanks for joining us tonight.

We are going to quickly go back to Melissa Long for more of our CNN.com countdown -- Melissa.

LONG: Paula., today, CNN.com readers wanted to learn more about plans for a new military offensive in southern Afghanistan. U.S.-led coalition forces are getting ready to launch what is called decisive operations -- the goal, drive the Taliban out of two towns.

A story about a happy Hollywood daddy is number seven. Brad Pitt says his latest role, being a father, is a true joy. Pitt says it has allowed him to think about something other than himself. As you know, he and his partner, Angelina Jolie, have three children. And I thought this quote from the doting daddy was kind of cute: "And, man, if I get a burp out of that little thing, I will feel such a sense of accomplishment."

(LAUGHTER)

ZAHN: That has certainly changed his sphere of influence, hasn't it?

Thanks...

LONG: Yes, it has.

ZAHN: ... Melissa. See you in a little bit.

LONG: Sure.

ZAHN: A storm of criticism forces the White House to shift gears.

Next in our top story coverage, the evacuations: who pays, who doesn't, and the agonizing wait at this hour to get out of a war zone.

Plus, the political fallout -- is Beirut a replay of the government's bumbling after Hurricane Katrina? We will debate that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Our top story coverage continues now.

The evacuation of Americans from Lebanon is finally under way, one week into the crisis. Controversy is growing over the slow pace, though, of that evacuation. And now Israel and Syria, two countries who agree on almost nothing, are both offering to do what the U.S. so far has not, help thousands of Americans get to safety.

Alessio Vinci has the very latest now on a flight from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): For a few Americans, help came from above, as Marine helicopters on Tuesday airlifted 120 people with special needs, babies, including this 21- day-old infant, the elderly, and families with sick children.

RABA LETTERI, AMERICAN EVACUEE FROM LEBANON: He got a severe -- severe infection in his stomach. We come several time here to the embassy to ask for help. And...

VINCI (on camera): Did they help you OK?

LETTERI: ... you know, after, I kiss everybody's hand and legs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) right now.

VINCI (voice-over): Raba Letteri married an American nine years ago, who insisted on coming to Lebanon to meet her family for the first time, a reunion that has taken its toll.

LETTERI: I am ask everybody to stop the war. Please, stop the war. Please, stop the war. We have enough. We have enough.

VINCI: The main U.S. evacuation effort will begin tomorrow, when a charter cruise ship, the Orient Queen, is expected to dock at a Port of Beirut and board as many as 1,000 Americans.

After that, U.S. naval ships, as well as more civilian cruise ships and ferries, are expected in the area to take on more evacuees. Eventually, U.S. officials expect that about 8,000 American citizens will leave, about a third of the estimated 25,000 here in Lebanon.

But many of the tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens displaced by the Israeli offensive will remain stuck in this war. They have nowhere else to go. And many found refuge in public schools, others in a park in central Beirut that has become a gathering place of families in need.

(on camera): The crisis began so abruptly and escalated so quickly, that the government is left scrambling to provide for the thousands of families left without a home. So, it is up to the volunteers to step in and to provide much-needed emergency assistance.

(voice-over): With much of the bombing concentrated in the southern part of the country, there is no humanitarian crisis in Beirut yet. But volunteers fear, the few donations that they have collected so far may soon run out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Usually, at the beginning of a crisis, a lot of people donate help. And I don't know how -- how -- how far that will last, because, usually, in the beginning, people are more enthusiastic. And we don't have that much. VINCI: Halima (ph) arrived here six days ago with her nine children and little else, and has no idea what happened to her house.

"If I had money," she says, "I wouldn't humiliate myself like this."

Some have criticized the U.S. government for not getting its citizens out quickly enough, and for charging them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Safety doesn't have a price. You know that they're going to get you out. We just don't know when.

VINCI: Around here these days, that's consolation enough.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: And I need to point out, since Alessio filed that report, there has been a reversal by the State Department. They have now put out a press release saying that Americans will not be required to pay for their passage out of Lebanon after all.

Now our top story coverage of the evacuation from Lebanon moves to the island of Cyprus now. And that's where hundreds of Americans are already finding refuge tonight.

Anderson Cooper also happens to be there. He joins me now.

Anderson, I know you have had a chance to talk with a bunch of Americans. How outraged are they about the pace of these evacuations from Beirut?

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": There -- there is a lot of frustration, and a lot of anger, and just a lot of exhausted Americans, you know, people who were in Beirut for vacation, or visiting their families, or -- or there to spend the summer holidays with their children, and suddenly found themselves in -- in the middle of this war, a lot of frustration that has grown over these days, Paula, as they have seen successive waves of French, and Italian, and Scandinavians, and -- and Swedish people leaving Beirut in ships supplied by their governments, a lot of questions now among Americans about why the response hasn't been faster.

The response is now ramping up. Some 350 Americans so far have been -- have been taken out of Beirut, most of those by Marine Corps Chinook helicopters. We saw more of that today. There is a U.S.- chartered ship, which, according to the U.S. military, will be taking off at first light of day on Wednesday morning, bringing some Americans out of Beirut.

They're anticipating about thousands Americans -- 1,000 Americans per day will be able to start leaving Beirut tomorrow. That's Wednesday. But, Paula, as you well know, 25,000 Americans in country in Lebanon right now -- they're estimating as many as 10,000 Americans may need to be evacuated. So, this evacuation is going to take more than a week, if that 1,000-a-day number holds accurate -- Paula.

ZAHN: Once they get to Cyprus, how are they being taken care of?

COOPER: Well that's another problem. Cyprus is a vacation resort. There are a lot of tourists here. So, there are a lot of hotels but a lot of those hotels are already booked up and if you have thousands of people a day arriving here, those hotels are going to get sold out very, very quickly.

I can tell you it is already hard to find hotel rooms here. There is hope that maybe some charter flights will be established. One American woman with her three children, who is hoping to return to New York, she was lucky. She got a flight out in a couple of hours. She'll be leaving this morning back to New York. But those flights are going to fill up very quickly, Paula, as more of these ships start coming in.

ZAHN: Anderson Cooper, thanks so much. Anderson will have much more on what Americans face tonight, with all the latest developments from Cyprus, on his show "360" at 10:00 Eastern.

Right now we continue our dotcom countdown with Melissa Long of CNN pipeline.

LONG: Paula, a story about a confession from behind bars is number six on the countdown tonight. In Georgia, a man convicted of raping and murdering a college student 12 years ago has finally confessed to the crime. Prosecutors say Butch Hinton made a detailed confession. It happened during an interview with police at the prison where he is now serving a life sentence.

People living along North Carolina's coast could be in for some rough weather. This story about tropical storm Beryl is number five on the countdown. Beryl is the second named storm of the season, in case you're keeping track. The National Hurricane Center says it formed out in the Atlantic. Coming up a little bit later, we'll talk more about the weather. But the heat wave which, Paula, I know you've been suffering through as well.

ZAHN: Well, I can't say I suffered, because I was inside working all day. But it has been very tough on the elderly. The heat index in some parts of the city about 109 degrees.

LONG: That's oppressive.

ZAHN: Yes, and a lot of brownouts and all kinds of things associated with that kind of heat. So keeping our fingers crossed that our fellow New Yorkers get through the night OK. Melissa, see you in a little bit.

Is the Bush administration doing enough to get Americans out of Beirut? You've heard what Anderson just said about some of the Americans he has spoken with. So, should the U.S. try larder to find a diplomatic solution? In a moment, our top story coverage focuses on war and politics.

We'll also take you to one of the most anxious cities in America tonight, where many people's relatives are trapped in Beirut.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: We have 25,000 Americans in Lebanon today. And I think it is too bad that this is being treated as a mini Katrina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: High profile critics like Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who we just heard, forced an important change in policy tonight. As we reported in our top story coverage, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has just decided that American evacuees will no longer have to sign agreements to repay their transportation costs, some as high as $3,000 a piece before they're taken out of Lebanon. But the administration is still getting clobbered for doing too little, too late for the evacuees or even enough to end this war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: The Germans are getting many of their citizens out of Lebanon. So are the British, the Spanish and the French. Each ferrying hundreds out by sea and air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is very bad. Very, very, very bad.

ZAHN: If it is that bad, why does the U.S. government seem to be moving so slowly to get Americans out of Lebanon? Since relatively few Americans have helicoptered out and hundreds more are waiting for a cruise ship, chartered by the government, high profile critics are raising their voices.

As the fighting continues between Israel and Hezbollah, other critics say the White House is moving too slowly to end the conflict and taking a back seat to the U.N., a criticism the administration rejects. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to head to the region soon, but no timetable is set yet.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: When it is appropriate and when it is necessary and will be helpful to the situation, I am more than pleased to go to the region.

ZAHN: President Bush himself has said the U.S. won't pressure Israel to stop its offensive. And it has little influence over Hezbollah or its allies, Syria and Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Joining me now to talk more about war and politics is a top story panel of two members of the best political team in TV. Senior national correspondent John Roberts and congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel. Great to have both of you with us. So Andrea, you heard Harry Reid's comparisons to the fallout of Katrina, calling it a mini Katrina. What kind of hit do you think President Bush will take for the slow evacuation of Americans?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly the Bush administration wanted to try to keep this big snowball from getting any larger right now. And tonight our CNN's Ted Barrett was the first to report that Secretary Rice notified Senators and Congressman that she was going to change her position and that she wasn't going to charge Americans. The State Department wasn't going to charge Americans for their flights and their various helicopter rides out of Lebanon, Paula.

So, this was something that Democrats had been building on, hitting on throughout the day today, including one top Republican, John Sununu, who is Lebanese American himself. He met with senior State Department officials and they got the word late today. You know Paula, this could have become a real PR nightmare for the administration.

ZAHN: Not just the administration but John, if we're going to be truthful here, for Congress. Because it was Congress, after all, that voted in this.

KOPPEL: Well actually, I'm so sorry. If I could interject here, Paula, because this is something that has been going on for a while here today. What we heard both Joe Biden and John Kerry say in letters to Secretary Rice, you were the one, your administration was the one five years ago to request this provision get put into law so it is rather disingenuous for the White House and for others at the State Department to say that they were only following the law.

ZAHN: But the fact was the law was made, wasn't it, John Roberts?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was, Paula, but the payment is only a small part of this. And I think that the hit from this is probably temporary because there is a far bigger issue here and we also haven't seen Americans suffering the way they were in an American city, New Orleans, back in August of last year. Certainly, this is something that you don't want to have happen, but it does seem to happen repeatedly.

America has got that biggest Navy in the world, it's got more airlift capacity than many nations put together. And yet it always seems to get hung up in the process. It happened during Hurricane Katrina. I also saw it happen in Guatemala following Hurricane Mitch. We were at the airport in Teguci Galpa. There were a number of U.S. helicopters sitting around all day, waiting for orders, waiting to find out what they were supposed to do, where they were supposed to go. And meanwhile the Mexican air force was loading up these little planes that looked like flying footballs and going to all ends of the country, delivering tons and tons of supplies. So if there was a hit hear, it's definitely one that the military has put itself in danger and exposure of getting hit with before and it seems to keep happening.

ZAHN: Andrea, let's come back to the diplomacy issue because the Bush administration is also getting hit for being rather elusive about when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make it to the region. How much of that is fair? Should the administration have sent high ranking diplomats into the region over a week ago when this thing was burbling up?

KOPPEL: Well, we have heard senators like Chuck Hagel and Dianne Feinstein say they felt the Bush administration needed to send a top envoy, somebody like Henry Kissinger, obviously not Henry Kissinger but perhaps Bill Clinton or even Colin Powell to the region because, being honest about all of this, and just realistic, Secretary Rice has a lot on her plate now. She can't be the one who is focused on Israel, on Lebanon, and on the situation there when she's got so many other things going on. You need one person who can be shuttling back and forth, Paula.

ZAHN: That is it for our great crew here, top story gang tonight. John Roberts, Andrea Koppel, thank you, both.

We're going to check in right now with Melissa Long who has more of our countdown now.

LONG: Paula, a story from Louisiana coming in at number four tonight and a dramatic development in a story that CNN's Drew Griffin broke last Fall. In New Orleans, a doctor and two nurses stand accused of killing four patients during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In just a few minutes, Drew will have more on this very story.

And What do you think, is the program simply over the top? A judge in England must watch a TV program and after watching the Jerry Springer Show, he must decide if the program is too racy for TV audiences in the UK. A company that has a contract to distribute that show in England wants out of the deal because it says some episodes violate Britain's broadcasting rules. What a unique assignment for that judge.

ZAHN: Haven't heard any complaints about him so far. He's going to have to have a pretty good sense of humor, isn't he?

LONG: I think so.

ZAHN: Thanks. See you in a little bit.

Top story coverage takes us to Michigan next. One suburb of Detroit is full of people with relatives trapped in Lebanon tonight. As you might imagine, they are very worried about what might happen next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Right now in our Top Story coverage the fighting in the Middle East hits home. Here in the U.S., families are waiting anxiously for any word from relatives trapped in Lebanon. Outside Detroit in Dearborn, Arab-Americans are protesting delays in evacuating U.S. citizens from Lebanon. Dearborn, as you probably know, has the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the country. Our Deborah Feyerick spent the day there and she just filed this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Dearborn, Michigan, Lebanese flags and anger fill the air. More Arab-Americans live here proportionately than in any other American city and fear for friends and family trapped in Lebanon runs high. That's why thousands packed several city blocks to demand that the White House step up evacuation efforts and rethink the way it is handling the crisis. Osama Siblami, the publisher of an Arab-American newspaper here helped organize the rally.

OSAMA SIBLAMI, PUBLISHER, ARAB AMERICAN NEWS: We are after minds and hearts of the Arabs and we're killing the minds and hearts and the bodies of all the Arabs and the Muslims. You know, this is not something that the United States should be doing.

FEYERICK: In the crowd, Dr. Muhammed Hakeem, his three American born teenage daughters were visiting cousins in a Lebanese village 20 miles north of the Israeli border when the bombing began.

(on camera): What were their actual words to you?

MUHAMMED HAKEEM, HAS FAMILY IN LEBANON: Are we going to make it alive? Are we going to come back home? Are we going to see our friends?

FEYERICK (voice-over): For days Dr. Hakeem has been anxiously calling the State Department and U.S. embassies in Beirut and Damascus. He tells us there have been few answers.

ANNOUNCER: Your call cannot be completed at this time to the country you're calling. Please try your call later.

FEYERICK: Same for his brother Waji (ph) whose wife and four teenagers are stranded near Beirut.

WAJI HAKEEM, HAS FAMILY IN LEBANON: Did you go to the embassy this morning. You went. What did they tell you? Wait until they call you, don't come again.

FEYERICK: The State Department defends the U.S. evacuation response now under way. We were at Dr. Hakeem's home early Tuesday when CNN broadcast pictures of U.S. helicopters arriving in Lebanon to help evacuate people seven days after fighting began.

M. HAKEEM: We do feel betrayed because this is our country. They're doing nothing to help us bring our kids back home.

FEYERICK: Dr. Hakeem took matters into his own hands. Paying a driver $800 for a 20 mile trip into Syria so his three daughters could get out of danger.

(on camera): How do they make their way up and out?

H. HAKEEM: The man rode was completely bombed out and closed. So they went through the country roads.

FEYERICK: Waji Hakeem is still waiting.

W. HAKEEM: Bye-bye. I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our kids are getting killed. Our country is being destroyed.

FEYERICK (voice-over): It is evident from the protesters here that worry is fast turning to anger. Anger that is growing and is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: The rally broke up from here about an hour and a half ago. It was peaceful. A lot of families with their children. As for Dr. Hakeem's children, they'll be arriving back in the United States on Monday. That was first flight he could get for them. He has vowed to return to Lebanon as soon as possible so that the progress made over the last several years can continue, Paula.

ZAHN: What a way. Deborah Feyerick, thanks.

(MARKET REPORT)

And our "Crude Awakenings," a daily look at gas prices all over the country. The states with today's highest prices are in red, the lowest in green. The average today for unleaded regular almost $2.99. The graph shows the trend after the last month or so.

Back to our CNN.com countdown with Melissa Long, Melissa.

LONG: Paula as you know, much of the U.S. continues to endure searing heat. A story about the heat wave ranks number two tonight. Temperatures moved into the triple digits in some cities. In the southern plains, the heat probably won't go way until Friday. The good news in the northeast could get a break even sooner.

Next our top story on CNN.com answers the question thousands of people are asking, when will loved ones stranded in Lebanon come back home?

ZAHN: Quite a question. One very important to a lot of Americans tonight. Melissa thanks. CNN's coverage of the crisis in the Middle East continues but there is another top story that you need to know about tonight. In the desperate days after Hurricane Katrina were there multiple murders at New Orleans hospitals? Stay with us for startling new details in the investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: We'll continue our coverage of tonight's top story, the unfolding events in the Middle East, in just a moment. But first, we want to bring you up to date on another top story, one that has been the subject of an ongoing CNN investigation: The deaths of patients at a New Orleans hospital and allegations of murder in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Chief investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has been working this story for nearly a year, and has the startling new developments tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We know them only by their initials and birth dates. Four people, patients at New Orleans's Memorial Hospital who were alive when Katrina hit and should have and would have still been alive, says Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti, if one doctor and two nurses had not killed them.

CHARLES FOTI, LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I want to put the term euthanasia back again to rest. This is not euthanasia. This is plain and simple homicide.

GRIFFIN: Dr. Anna Pou, nurses Lori Budo and Cheri Landry face four counts each of principal to second degree murder, murder committed in the fourth day after Katrina, when, according to the attorney general's affidavit, medical staff mixed morphine and Versed into one injectable drug, with allegedly only one possible outcome.

FOTI: These drugs both together are central nervous system depressants. When you use both of those drugs together -- either one of them can kill you -- but when you use both of them together, it becomes a lethal cocktail that guarantees they are going to die.

GRIFFIN: Foti says four did die, but there may be more -- as many as nine victims whose deaths are particularly suspicious to investigators. And Foti's affidavit also details how many more medical staff inside the hospital knew, possibly aided, and at the very least did nothing to stop the alleged killing.

CNN broke the story last October that doctors and nurses openly discussed killing patients, and the affidavit is a chilling chronicle of how widespread the talk and actions were, including how one patient reportedly said "that burns" as the medicine entered his blood stream.

Dr. Pou's attorney today said his client is innocent, and he intends to mount a vigorous defense, saying in part "the blame game of the past is now refocusing on innocent medical professionals."

RICK SIMMONS, DR. ANNA POU'S ATTORNEY: Unfortunately, in the state we went through the blame game for several weeks right after the storm. The city, federal and state government all blaming each other for what happened here and the loss of life. And now it is a year later, and the blame game has now shifted to a doctor and two nurses.

GRIFFIN: The lawyer for nurse Cheri Landry says she will plead not guilty. CNN could not find an attorney for Lori Budo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: And, Paula, the one missing piece here is motive. Attorney General Charles Foti couldn't say why a doctor and two nurses would deliberately kill their patients, but he says a crime was committed. This was not a mercy killing. This was not euthanasia. He says it was second degree murder -- Paula.

ZAHN: Chief investigative correspondent Drew Griffin, thanks.

We're going to quickly get back to Melissa Long for our last of the countdown numbers.

LONG: Yes. We've reached the top story on the countdown. It is about Americans escaping open warfare in Lebanon. About 350 of the estimated 25,000 American citizens that have already been evacuated to Cyprus now, while the State Department and Pentagon say more than 2,400 Americans should be leaving Lebanon by Thursday, most of them aboard two chartered ships. Back to you, Paula.

ZAHN: Unfortunately, it could be a long, long time before the rest of them get home. Melissa, thanks.

Coming up at the top of the hour on CNN, the very latest on the crisis in Lebanon. Larry is joined by reporters all over the region.

We'll be back with our own update right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: And we're developing another top story tonight. At least 10 people seriously injured at sea. A crippled cruise ship returns to port in Florida, listing badly. A steering problem caused the Crown Princess to roll sharply to the left. One passenger told a local TV station that people were running for life jackets. They were terrified. The Coast Guard said the ship developed a problem with its rudder. The ship was returning home from a nine-day Caribbean cruise.

Updating this hour's top stories. CNN has confirmed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has decided that evacuees will not be asked to sign a promissory note to reimburse the government before they'll be evacuated. As the fighting enters its second week, at least 183 Lebanese are dead. Hezbollah rockets have killed 13 civilians, 12 soldiers in Israel.

That's it for all of us here tonight. We'll be back tomorrow. Good night.

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